Recently on Last Week Tonight John Oliver discussed the problem of nuclear waste storage, which despite a number of attempts to designate a central storage site is still stored in "temporary" sites throughout the US.
The idea of a central nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain was raised again. However one additional problem, highlighted by a consultation in 1981 by the US Department of Energy, was how to design radiation warnings which could be understood tens of thousands of years into the future even though language, culture, and iconography may undergo significant changes.
And on that note, here's an old guardian article on how colour-changing cats might be the solution.
In 1984, writer Françoise Bastide and semiotician Paolo Fabbri suggested the answer could lie in breeding animals that "react with discoloration of the skin when exposed" to radiation. "[Their] role as a detector of radiation should be anchored in cultural tradition by introducing a suitable name (eg, 'ray cat')."
And following up on that is the project The Ray Cat Solution, in conjunction with Bricobio, the Montréal biology maker community:
New Hampshire Institute of Art's Type 1 class has joined forces with Bricobio and The Raycat Solution to help insert Raycats into the cultural vocabulary.
While Bricobio works towards genetically altering cats so they change color when in the presence of radioactive material, the NHIA Type 1 class is working to insert the idea that if a cat changes color, that space might be dangerous to others.
There is an associated film on the subject on Vimeo.
Originally spotted through the 99% Invisible Episode "Ten Thousand Years"
(Score: 3, Funny) by Geezer on Sunday August 27 2017, @08:55AM (2 children)
CATS: All your base are belong to us.
CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 27 2017, @01:43PM
What you say?!?
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday August 28 2017, @12:08AM
In any case we don't need special color-changing cats, we already have color-changing people. Once their skin goes mottled, or grey, or green, you know that there's too much radioactivity around.